Shakespeare PLAYS were meant to be watched.

Recommended Plays to Watch

I always remind my students and the teachers I train that Shakespeare wrote PLAYS, not literature. Shakespearean plays were meant to be WATCHED! Unfortunately, there are very few modern productions of Shakespeare's plays that are family-friendly. And because I have been asked many times over which play productions are safe for the whole family to watch, I decided to include a list here on my website-- including plays our local commonwealth schools have produced. (Some directed by me, some directed by others.)

Of course, I have not included ALL of Shakespeare's plays here, but hopefully, this list will give you a good place to start.

(*NOTE: I have yet to find a completely clean modern version of Hamlet. There seems to be one scene that every director feels needs to be racy, and that is the scene when Hamlet confronts his mother in her bedroom. After Hamlet kills Polonius during that scene, I recommend that you skip the rest of that scene and move on to the next one. This is true for the two starred versions above.)

*The 1993 version has some racy scenes that can be skipped over, but it will require a vigilant parent sitting with the children viewers to forward scenes at the correct times.

The introduction, when the family goes back to the house to bathe, has NUDITY in it. It should be skipped until the soldiers enter and greet the host.

During the masked ball, Borachio and the maid pair off and there is a brief moment that needs to be skipped. It happens FAST, so be aware.

The scene where John and the Prince take Claudio to show him that Hero is not virtuous. A sexual scene is played out from a no-so-far distance, complete with sounds , so fast forward to the next scene.

*(This version has one scene-- the marriage when the goddesses come and sing-- that has some extremely immodest costumes. The three singing goddesses are in sheer dresses. That scene can be easily skipped.)